1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to adjustable rear view mirrors, and more particularly pertains to an adjustable rear view mirror assembly which is particularly designed for use with truck trailers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Adjustable rear view mirrors for vehicles are well known in the art. In this respect, a number of these mirror constructions are now used on vehicles, while a substantially large number of patents have issued to various designs which are not presently commercially available. Typically, most of these adjustable rear view mirror assemblies utilize various mechanical operators to effect the angular positioning of a mirror within a mounted bracket. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,854, which issued to P. Fykes on Dec. 17, 1968, discloses a remotely adjustable rear view mirror that is actuated by a pneumatic operator. This mirror assembly provides for an angularly adjustable mirror mounted in a bracket attached to the truck cab, with the operator then being able to manually operate the drive to rotate the mirror to a desired angle. The Fykes mirror assembly is illustrative of a number of operably moveable mirrors attached to trucks which are controlled by the operator from within the truck cab. While these mirrors are functional to the extent that they accomplish the desired result, as evidenced by the complexity of the Fykes design, very few of these prior art mirror assemblies have ever been commercially developed. Further, these prior art adjustable rear view mirror assemblies are not particularly well adapted for use with substantially long trailers associated with trucks, inasmuch as during the backing up of the trailer, the angular alignment of the truck with respect to its cab reaches a position where a conventional rear view mirror assembly can no longer be rotated to view the rear of the trailer. This is occasioned by the fact that some means must be provided for moving the mirror assembly outwardly from the cab before a rotation of the mirror will reach the desired viewing angle.
There has been some recognition of this problem as evidenced by the issuance of U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,937, which was awarded to C. Nicholson on July 2, 1968. The Nicholson rear view mirror assembly includes mounting means attachable to a truck cab wherein such mounting means include two different types of adjustment. A first adjustment facilitates the movement of the mirrors outwardly from the truck cab, while a second adjustment mechanism is then provided to rotate the mirrors to a desired viewing angle such as might be required during a backing up of the associated trailer. However, the Nicholson device has apparently never met with commercial success, most likely due to the substantial complexities of construction as evidenced by the description in the patent as issued.
As such, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved adjustable mirror assemblies which permit such assemblies to be rapidly and efficiently moved into desired viewing angles on tractor trailer trucks, and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.